87 corvette in neutral, without keys?

bigcountry78 · Feb 17, 2020

My father in law traded for an 87 corvette a couple years ago. He wants to give it to my son, but he has lost the keys. It’s about $300 to get a new one made because of all the security gizmos. So he’s in no hurry. In the meantime, the car is sitting out in the weather, and it’s leaking. The passenger floorboard stays wet. Is there any way to get this thing in neutral without the key so I can at least get it in the dry? I know there has to be a trick. Oh and I can provide a pic of the title to prove I’m not trying to steal it lol.

roundhouse · Feb 18, 2020

If you can get to the trans linkage
You could disconnect it from the shifter and move the lever on the trans to something other than park

But you’re gonna have to get the keys made or later ...

Crispy · Feb 18, 2020

So i think you can convince the dealership to cut you a non vats keys based off of the vin for a few bucks. You will more than likely have to provide some sort of proof of ownership.

From there you can bypass the vats system very easily with a multimeter and some radioshack resistors. Follow these instructions. I've used them on my 99 Trans Am (no problem for 6 years now) and just did my moms 02 Buick Regal.
http://thealdensorg.dyndns.org/vehi...rs/BypassVATS_201412/95LeSabre_BypassVATS.pdf

Another option is getting a new ignition lock cylinder and removing the old one. This will also require a VATS bypass and possibly a little more labor removing the lock cylinder without the original key.

As for moving it. I think you can disconnect the shifter linkage and manually put the trans in neutral from under the car.

Big Chip · Feb 18, 2020

Won’t the steering column still be locked if you just disconnect the linkage? I used to watch this repo guy on YouTube and most newer cars have a shift override. It’s usually under a little cover near the shifter.

edit-I couldn’t tell you if that car has such a feature but it should be easy enough to find out.

bucket · Feb 18, 2020

It's also common to get a new PROM for the ECM that as the VATS eliminated. You can also have egr eliminated, change engine fan turn-on points, and a whole bunch of other things.

yevgenievich · Feb 18, 2020

On my 89 TA dealership claimed was too old to cut a key as records were paper at that time. Taking the steering wheel off gives easy access to removal of the lock cylinder. If steering wheel steering not needed, then as mentioned easiest is to disconnect trans linkage. Also floors are fiberglass, but cowl area and behind driver and under rockers steel.

bigcountry78 · Feb 18, 2020

Crispy said:
So i think you can convince the dealership to cut you a non vats keys based off of the vin for a few bucks. You will more than likely have to provide some sort of proof of ownership.

From there you can bypass the vats system very easily with a multimeter and some radioshack resistors. Follow these instructions. I've used them on my 99 Trans Am (no problem for 6 years now) and just did my moms 02 Buick Regal.
http://thealdensorg.dyndns.org/vehi...rs/BypassVATS_201412/95LeSabre_BypassVATS.pdf

Another option is getting a new ignition lock cylinder and removing the old one. This will also require a VATS bypass and possibly a little more labor removing the lock cylinder without the original key.

As for moving it. I think you can disconnect the shifter linkage and manually put the trans in neutral from under the car.

I tried the dealer first. I have the title in my name. But they told me that it was too old to do that. The locksmith told me that he could cut a key off the vin, but that those cars had a lot of problems with the switches, and that there was about a 90% chance that the switch had been changed. That leaves me with either having him come out and cut the key on site, or loading the car up and taking it to him to do for slightly less money.

Crispy · Feb 19, 2020

bigcountry78 said:
I tried the dealer first. I have the title in my name. But they told me that it was too old to do that. The locksmith told me that he could cut a key off the vin, but that those cars had a lot of problems with the switches, and that there was about a 90% chance that the switch had been changed. That leaves me with either having him come out and cut the key on site, or loading the car up and taking it to him to do for slightly less money.

If it were me I'd take a drill or a screwdriver and hammer to the ignition switch and start over after the bypass. Seems to be the cheapest way with least parties involved. I find that doing it myself even its harder sometimes leads to less frustration with either the unwillingness or inability of a third party. Do you have access to inside the car? Doors left unlocked or jimmy'd into?

TubeTruck · Feb 19, 2020

Buy 2 sets of these. It'll cost you $100 or less with 20% coupon. Jack the car up, put underneath the wheels and push it where ever you want.

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-vehicle-dollies-2-pc-61283.html

Snoots · Feb 19, 2020

2 (or more) floor jacks and a few friends.

Crispy · Feb 19, 2020

TubeTruck said:
Buy 2 sets of these. It'll cost you $100 or less with 20% coupon. Jack the car up, put underneath the wheels and push it where ever you want.

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-vehicle-dollies-2-pc-61283.html

I used similar to move my 79 Trans Am into its operating room. Very handy! I think I got them for like $93 shipped with the coupon. Cant go wrong.
https://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-1500-lb-capacity-vehicle-dollies-67338.html

Funny that without the coupon theres only a $5 difference between the two.

bigcountry78 · Feb 19, 2020

Crispy said:
If it were me I'd take a drill or a screwdriver and hammer to the ignition switch and start over after the bypass. Seems to be the cheapest way with least parties involved. I find that doing it myself even its harder sometimes leads to less frustration with either the unwillingness or inability of a third party. Do you have access to inside the car? Doors left unlocked or jimmy'd into?

Yes the doors are unlocked. That’s not a problem. I wondered if I could do that but I wasn’t sure how the security stuff worked. Seems like if it’s that easy, there’s no point having security systems in place.

bigcountry78 · Feb 19, 2020

TubeTruck said:
Buy 2 sets of these. It'll cost you $100 or less with 20% coupon. Jack the car up, put underneath the wheels and push it where ever you want.

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-vehicle-dollies-2-pc-61283.html

I’ll have to check on those, there’s one local. Only issue the carport I was going to push it under is in the other side of some grass. Still may be an option though.

bucket · Feb 19, 2020

Hey, wait a minute! You've got a 4x4 truck.... just hook it up and drag it where it needs to go

78C10BigTen · Feb 19, 2020

TubeTruck said:
Buy 2 sets of these. It'll cost you $100 or less with 20% coupon. Jack the car up, put underneath the wheels and push it where ever you want.

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-vehicle-dollies-2-pc-61283.html

Assuming its on good solid ground

87 corvette in neutral, without keys?

bigcountry78

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roundhouse

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Crispy

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Big Chip

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bucket

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yevgenievich

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bigcountry78

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Crispy

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TubeTruck

I'm from Boston. Deal with it.

Snoots

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bigcountry78

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bucket

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